System and method for reminders of upcoming rentable media offerings

ABSTRACT

The invention can be viewed as a system for providing media information to a user via an interactive media services client device coupled to a programmable media services server device. A method of the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes adding a media title to a media title list in response to user input.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No.09/590,488, filed on Jun. 9, 2000, and claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/214,987, filed on Jun. 29, 2000, both ofwhich are entirely incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates in general to television systems, and moreparticularly, to the field of media-on-demand.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With recent advances in digital transmission technology, cabletelevision systems are now capable of providing much more than thetraditional analog broadcast video. In implementing enhancedprogramming, the home communication terminal (“HCT”), otherwise known asthe settop box, has become an important computing device for accessingvideo services and navigating a subscriber through a maze of availableservices. In addition to supporting traditional analog broadcast videofunctionality, digital HCTs (or “DHCTs”) now also support an increasingnumber of two-way digital services such as video-on-demand.

Typically, a DHCT is connected to a cable or satellite televisionnetwork and includes hardware and software necessary to provide thefunctionality of the digital television system at the client's site.Preferably, some of the software executed and data processed by a DHCTis downloaded and/or updated via the cable television network. Each DHCTalso typically includes a processor, communication components andmemory, and is connected to a television or other display device, suchas a personal computer. While many conventional DHCTs are stand-alonedevices that are externally connected to a television, a DHCT and/or itsfunctionality may be integrated into a television or personal computer,as will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art.

DHCTs are capable of providing users with a very large number andvariety of media rentals. As the number of available media rentalsincreases, it can become inconvenient and time consuming for users tocontinually browse through unwanted media titles in order to find theones that they like. Furthermore, users are often confronted with achoice of many desirable media titles to choose from such that afterselecting and viewing a desirable media title, they often forget thenames of other media titles that they were interested in viewing.Therefore, there exists a need to make it easier and more convenient forusers to find and select desirable media titles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention can be viewed as a system for providing media informationto a user via an interactive media services client device coupled to aprogrammable media services server device. A method of the preferredembodiment of the present invention includes adding a media title to amedia title list in response to user input.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention can be better understood with reference to the followingdrawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn toscale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating theprinciples of the present invention. In the drawings, like referencenumerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a cable television system in accordancewith one preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of selected elements of the headend asdepicted in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a DHCT and related equipment, in accordancewith one preferred embodiment of the present invention depicted in FIG.1.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a remote control device that can be used toprovide user input to the DHCT shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a diagram depicting an example rental selection window 100that is presented to the user by the DHCT depicted in FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a diagram depicting an example browse-by window 110 that ispresented to a user after the user activates a “B” button on the remotecontrol device depicted in FIG. 4 while being presented with the rentalselection screen depicted in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a diagram depicting an example future releases informationwindow that is presented to a user after the user selects a “ComingSoon” option while being presented with the browse by screen depicted inFIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a diagram depicting an example reminder list screen that ispresented to a user after the user selects a reminder list option whilebeing presented with the browse-by screen depicted in FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 illustrates the deletion of a media title from the reminder listdepicted in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a diagram depicting an example reminder screen in which acurrently highlighted media title is not yet available for rent.

FIG. 11 is a diagram depicting an example reminder screen whichillustrates an alternative embodiment to the reminder screen depicted inFIG. 8.

FIG. 12 depicts the reminder screen of FIG. 11 wherein a future releasesmedia list is designated as the currently scrollable sub-list.

FIG. 13 is a diagram depicting an example reminder barker that informsthe user that a media title that is part of the reminder list depictedin FIG. 8 has become available for rent.

FIG. 14 is a diagram depicting an example reminder barker that informsthe user that a media title that is part of the reminder list depictedin FIG. 8 will no longer be available for rent.

FIG. 15 is a diagram depicting an end of rental barker that is presentedto a user at the end of a media rental that is included in the reminderlist depicted in FIG. 8.

FIG. 16 depicts a media title selection window that is an alternativeembodiment to the selection window depicted in FIG. 5.

FIG. 17 depicts a shopping list window that is presented to a user afterthe user requests to view a shopping list while being presented with themedia title selection window depicted in FIG. 16.

FIG. 18 depicts a “save list” barker that is presented to a user afterthe user requests a media title while being presented with the shoppinglist window depicted in FIG. 17.

FIG. 19 depicts a media title selection window that is an alternativeembodiment to the selection window depicted in FIG. 16.

FIG. 20 depicts a list selection window that is presented to the userafter the user requests the addition of a media title to a list whilebeing presented with the media selection window depicted in FIG. 19.

FIG. 21 depicts a media title selection window that is an alternativeembodiment to the selection window depicted in FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodimentsof the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied inmany different forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided sothat this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fullyconvey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

The present invention is generally implemented as part of a cabletelevision system (CTS). Hence, an illustrative CTS 10 and its operationwill be described initially. FIG. 1 shows a block diagram view of a CTS10, which is generally a high quality, reliable and integrated networksystem that features video, audio, voice and data services to DHCTusers. Although FIG. 1 depicts a high level view of a CTS 10, it shouldbe appreciated that a plurality of cable television systems can tietogether a plurality of regional networks into an integrated globalnetwork so that DHCT users can receive content provided from anywhere inthe world.

The CTS 10 delivers broadcast video signals as digitally formattedsignals in addition to delivering traditional broadcast analog videosignals. Furthermore, the system can support one way broadcast servicesas well as both one-way data services and two-way media and dataservices. The two-way operation of the network allows for userinteractivity with services, such as Pay-Per-View programming, NearVideo-On-Demand (NVOD) programming according to any of several knownNVOD implementation methods, View-on-Demand (VOD) programming (accordingto any of several known VOD implementation methods), and interactiveapplications, such as Internet connections and interactive media Guide(IMG) applications.

The CTS 10 also provides the interfaces, network control, transportcontrol, session control, and servers to access content and services,and distributes content and services to DHCT users. As shown in FIG. 1,a typical CTS 10 comprises a headend 11, hubs 12, an HFC access network17, and users' digital home communication terminals (DHCTs) 16. Itshould be appreciated that although a single component (e.g. a headend)is illustrated in FIG. 1, a CTS 10 can feature a plurality of any one ofthe illustrated components or may be configured with alternativeembodiments for any one of the individual components or with yet otheradditional components not enumerated above. A content provider (notshown) transmits media content to a headend for further transmission tousers downstream in the network.

Content provided by a content provider is communicated by the contentprovider to one or more headends 11. From those headends the content isthen communicated over a communications network 18 that includes aplurality of HFC access networks 17 (only one HFC access network 17 isillustrated). The HFC access network 17 typically comprises a pluralityof HFC nodes 13, each of which may serve a local geographical area. Thehub 12 connects to the HFC node 13 through a fiber portion of the HFCaccess network 17. The HFC node 13 is connected to a tap 14 which isconnected to a network interface unit (NIU) 15 which is connected to aDHCT 16. The NIU 15 is normally located at a user's property andprovides a transparent interface between the HFC node 13 and the users'internal wiring. Coaxial cables are typically used to couple nodes 13,taps 14 and NIUs 15 because the electrical signals can be easilyrepeated with radio frequency (RF) amplifiers.

As the high-level operations of many of the functions of CTSs 10 arewell known to those of skill in the art, further description of theoverall CTS 10 of FIG. 1 will not be contained herein. It will beappreciated, however, that the CTS 10 shown in FIG. 1 is merelyillustrative and should not be construed as implying any limitationsupon the scope of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of portions of a headend 11 that is configuredto provide media-on-demand (MOD) services in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. MOD services include, among otherthings, video-on-demand (VOD) services and respective MOD informationsuitable to be presented to a user via display of an interactive mediaguide. MOD server application 19 and a plurality of other serverapplications 20 are connected to a digital network control system (DNCS)23 via a high-speed network such as an Ethernet connection 32. The MODserver application 19 is responsible for reserving and configuringsystem resources needed to provide MOD services and for providingconfiguration and service data to an MOD client application 63 (FIG. 3),including MOD information comprising a catalog of titles available foron-demand viewing and/or on-demand rental by a user.

The DNCS 23 provides complete management, monitoring, and control of thenetwork's elements and broadcast services provided to users. In oneimplementation, the DNCS 23 uses a data insertion multiplexer 29 and adata QAM 30 to insert in-band broadcast file system (BFS) data into anMPEG-2 transport stream that is broadcast and received via DHCT'scommunication interface 42 and tuner system 45. The DNCS 23 alsocontains a session manager 34 that uses Digital Storage Media Commandand Control (DSMCC) protocol to set up and maintain MOD sessions. Thesession manager 34 processes user to network (U-N) session signalingmessages, manages allocation of session-related network resources,supports network management operations, acts as a point of contact tothe network for the DHCT's 16 in the network 18 to establish individualsessions, and supports MOD services by providing the signaling interfaceto establish, maintain and release client initiated exclusive sessions.

A service application manager (SAM) server 25 is a server component of aclient-server pair of components, with the client component beinglocated at the DHCT 16. Together, the client-server SAM componentsprovide a system in which the user can access services, which areidentified by an application to run and a parameter, such as particulardata content, specific to that service. The client-server SAM componentsalso manage the life cycle of the applications on the system, includingthe definition, activation, and suspension of services they provide andthe downloading of the applications into the DHCT 16 as necessary.

Applications on both the headend 11 and the DHCT 16 can access the datastored in a broadcast file system (BFS) server 28 in a similar manner toa file system found on operating systems. The BFS server 28 is a part ofa broadcast file system that has a counterpart BFS client module 43(FIG. 3) in a DHCT 16 connected to the network 18. The BFS server 28repeatedly sends data for applications on a data carousel (not shown)over a period of time in cyclical repeated fashion so that a DHCT 16that is in need of reading any particular data file or parts thereof mayreceive it when requested by a user or one or more of its internalrunning processes.

A VOD content manager 21 is responsible for managing the content on theVOD content servers 22. The MOD server application 19 controls both theVOD content manager 21 and the VOD content servers 22 and utilizes themto help deliver the video and audio streams that make up VOD services.In one embodiment, an MOD content manager and MOD content servers (notshown) could run respectively in parallel to the VOD content manager 21and VOD content servers 22 to manage other types of on-demand mediacontent. In an alternate embodiment an MOD content manager replaces theVOD content manager 21 and the MOD content servers replaces the VODcontent servers 22. The QAM modulators that comprise the QAM group 24receive the MPEG-2 transport streams from the VOD content servers 22,convert them into encrypted RF signals at a specified frequency(channel), and transmit them to a DHCT 16 via the network 18.

The QPSK modem 26 is responsible for transporting the out-of-band IP(internet protocol) datagram traffic between the distribution headend 11and a DHCT 16. Data from the QPSK modem 26 is routed by headend router27 within the headend 11. The headend router 27 is also responsible fordelivering upstream application traffic to the various serverapplications 19 & 20.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a DHCT 16 that is coupled to aheadend 11 and to a television 41. Some of the functionality performedby applications executed in the DHCT 16 (such as the MOD clientapplication 63) may instead be performed at the headend 11 and viceversa. A DHCT 16 is typically situated at a user's residence or place ofbusiness and may be a stand alone unit or integrated into another devicesuch as, for example, a television set or a personal computer. The DHCT16 preferably includes a communications interface 42 for receivingsignals (video, audio and/or other data) from the headend 11 through thenetwork 18 and for providing any reverse information to the headend 11through the network 18. The DHCT 16 further includes at least oneprocessor 44 for controlling operations of the DHCT 16, an RF outputsystem 48 for driving the television display 41, and a tuner system 45for tuning into a particular television channel to be displayed and forsending and receiving various types of data or media from the headend11. The tuner system 45 includes, in one implementation, an out-of-bandtuner for bi-directional quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) datacommunication and a quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) tuner forreceiving television signals. Additionally, a receiver 46 receivesexternally-generated information, such as user inputs or commands fromother devices.

The DHCT 16 may also include one or more wireless or wired interfaces,also called ports, for receiving and/or transmitting data to otherdevices. For instance, the DHCT 16 may feature USB (Universal SerialBus), Ethernet (for connection to a computer), IEEE-1394 (for connectionto media devices in an entertainment center), serial, and/or parallelports. The user inputs may, for example, be provided by a computer ortransmitter with buttons or keys located either on the exterior of theterminal or by a hand-held remote control device or keyboard thatincludes user-actuated buttons.

In one implementation, the DHCT 16 includes system memory 49, whichincludes flash memory 51 and dynamic random access memory (DRAM) 52, forstoring various applications, modules and data for execution and use bythe processor 44. Basic functionality of the DHCT 16 is provided by anoperating system 53 that is primarily stored in flash memory 51. Amongother things, the operating system 53 includes at least one resourcemanager 67 that provides an interface to resources of the DHCT 16 suchas, for example, computing resources.

One or more programmed software applications, herein referred to asapplications, are executed by utilizing the computing resources in theDHCT 16. Applications stored in flash memory 51 or DRAM 52 are executedby processor 44 (e.g., a central processing unit or digital signalprocessor) under the auspices of the operating system 53. Data requiredas input by an application is stored in DRAM 52 or flash memory 51 andread by processor 44 as need be during the course of the application'sexecution. Input data may be data stored in DRAM 52 by a secondaryapplication or other source, either internal or external to the DHCT 16,or possibly anticipated by the application and thus created with theapplication at the time it was generated as a software application, inwhich case it is stored in flash memory 51. Data generated by anapplication is stored in DRAM 52 by processor 44 during the course ofthe application's execution. DRAM 52 also includes application memory 70that various applications may use for storing and/or retrieving data.

An application referred to as navigator 55 is also resident in flashmemory 51 for providing a navigation framework for services provided bythe DHCT 16. The navigator 55 registers for and in some cases reservescertain user inputs related to navigational keys such as channelincrement/decrement, last channel, favorite channel, etc. The clientapplications may be resident in flash memory 51 or downloaded into DRAM52. The navigator 55 also provides users with television related menuoptions that correspond to DHCT functions such as, for example,providing an interactive program guide, blocking a channel or a group ofchannels from being displayed in a channel menu, and displaying avideo-on-demand purchase list.

The flash memory 51 also contains a platform library 56. The platformlibrary 56 is a collection of utilities useful to applications, such asa timer manager, a compression manager, a configuration manager, an HTMLparser, a database manager, a widget toolkit, a string manager, andother utilities (not shown). These utilities are accessed byapplications via application programming interfaces (APIs) as necessaryso that each application does not have to contain these utilities. Twocomponents of the platform library 56 that are shown in FIG. 3 are awindow manager 59 and a service application manager (SAM) client 57.

The window manager 59 provides a mechanism for implementing the sharingof the screen regions and user input. The window manager 59 on the DHCT16 is responsible for, as directed by one or more applications,implementing the creation, display, and de-allocation of the limitedDHCT 16 screen resources. It allows multiple applications to share thescreen by assigning ownership of screen regions, or windows. The windowmanager 59 also maintains, among other things, a user input registry 50in DRAM 52 so that when a user enters a key or a command via the remotecontrol device 80 or another input device such as a keyboard or mouse,the user input registry 50 is accessed to determine which of variousapplications running on the DHCT 16 should receive data corresponding tothe input key and in which order. As an application is executed, itregisters a request to receive certain user input keys or commands. Whenthe user presses a key corresponding to one of the commands on theremote control device 80, the command is received by the receiver 46 andrelayed to the processor 44. The processor 44 dispatches the event tothe operating system 53 where it is forwarded to the window manager 59which ultimately accesses the user input registry 50 and routes datacorresponding to the incoming command to the appropriate application.

The SAM client 57 is a client component of a client-server pair ofcomponents, with the server component being located on the headend 11. ASAM database 60 in DRAM 52 includes a data structure of services and adata structure of channels that are created and updated by the headend11. Many services can be defined using the same application component,with different parameters. Examples of services include, withoutlimitation and in accordance with one implementation, presentingtelevision programs (available through a WatchTV application 62),pay-per-view events (available through a PPV application 64), digitalmusic (not shown), media-on-demand (available through an MOD application63), and an interactive program guide. In general, the identification ofa service includes the identification of an executable application thatprovides the service along with a set of application-dependentparameters that indicate to the application the service to be provided.As a non-limiting example, a service of presenting a television programcould be executed with a set of parameters to view HBO or with aseparate set of parameters to view CNN. Each association of theapplication component (tune video) and one parameter component (HBO orCNN) represents a particular service that has a unique service I.D. TheSAM client 57 also interfaces with the resource manager 67, as discussedbelow, to control resources of the DHCT 16.

Application clients can also be downloaded into DRAM 52 at the requestof the SAM client 57, typically in response to a request by the user orin response to a message from the headend. In this non-limiting exampleDRAM 52 contains a media-on-demand application (MOD) 63, an e-mailapplication 65, and a web browser application 66, among others (notshown). It should be clear to one with ordinary skill in the art thatthese applications are not limiting and merely serve as examples forthis present embodiment of the invention. Furthermore, one or more DRAMbased applications may, as an alternative embodiment, be resident inflash memory 51. These applications, and others provided by the cablesystem operator, are top level software entities on the network forproviding services to the user.

In one implementation, applications executing on the DHCT 16 work withthe navigator 55 by abiding by several guidelines. First, an applicationutilizes the SAM client 57 for the provision, activation, and suspensionof services. Second, an application shares DHCT 16 resources with otherapplications and abides by the resource management policies of the SAMclient 57, the operating system 53, and the DHCT 16. Third, anapplication handles situations where resources are only available withnavigator 55 intervention. Fourth, when an application loses serviceauthorization while providing a service, the application suspends theservice via the SAM (the navigator 55 will reactivate an individualservice application when it later becomes authorized). Finally, anapplication client is designed to not have access to certain user inputkeys reserved by the navigator (i.e., power, channel +/−, volume +/−,etc.).

The MOD client application 63 provides the user with lists of availablemedia titles to choose from and with video presentations requested bythe user. The MOD client application 63 provides video presentations tothe user by engaging, preferably, in a direct two-way IP (InternetProtocol) connection with VOD content servers 22 (FIG. 2). The MODclient application 63 is also responsible for providing reminder andfiling functionality as described below. In an alternative embodiment,the reminder and/or filing functionality is provided by a separateapplication that can be selectively aggregated to the MOD clientapplication 63 for purposes of charging separately for thatfunctionality.

An executable program or algorithm corresponding to an operating system(OS) component, or to a client platform component, or to a clientapplication, or to respective parts thereof, can reside in and executeout of DRAM 52 and/or flash memory 51. Likewise, data inputted into oroutputted from any executable program can reside in DRAM 52 or flashmemory 51. Furthermore, an executable program or algorithm correspondingto an OS component, or to a client platform component, or to a clientapplication, or to respective parts thereof, can reside in flash memory51, or in a local storage device connected to DHCT 16 and be transferredinto DRAM 52 for execution. Likewise, data input for an executableprogram can reside in flash memory 51 or a storage device and betransferred into DRAM 52 for use by an executable program or algorithm.In addition, data outputted by an executable program can be written intoDRAM 52 by an executable program or algorithm and be transferred intoflash memory 51 or into a storage device for storage purposes. Thepresent invention is not limited by where or how data and/orapplications are stored or retrieved.

Each of the above mentioned applications comprises executableinstructions for implementing logical functions and can be embodied inany computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as acomputer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system thatcan fetch and execute the instructions. In the context of this document,a “computer-readable medium” can be any means that can contain, store,communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or inconnection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.The computer readable medium can be, for example but not limited to, anelectronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, orsemiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagation medium. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer-readablemedium would include the following: an electrical connection(electronic) having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette(magnetic), a random access memory (RAM) (electronic), a read-onlymemory (ROM) (electronic), an erasable programmable read-only memory(EPROM or Flash memory) (electronic), an optical fiber (optical), and aportable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM) (optical). Note that thecomputer-readable medium could even be paper or another suitable mediumupon which the program is printed, as the program can be electronicallycaptured, via for instance optical scanning of the paper or othermedium, then compiled, interpreted or otherwise processed in a suitablemanner, and then stored in a computer memory.

FIG. 4 illustrates a non limiting example of a remote control device 80that is used to provide user input to the DHCT 16. The arrow buttons 82include an up arrow button 83, a down arrow button 84, a left arrowbutton 85, and a right arrow button 86 that are used to scroll throughoptions and/or to highlight an option. The select button 87 may be usedto select a currently highlighted option that is provided to the user.Other buttons that are available will be discussed further below. Manyalternative methods of providing user input may be used including aremote control device with different buttons and/or button layouts, akeyboard device, a voice activated device, etc. The invention describedherein is not limited by the type of device used to provide user input.

With continued reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 throughout the remainingfigures, FIG. 5 shows an example media title selection window 100. Aswith other window examples discussed below, processor 44 executesprogram instructions of MOD client application 63 that cause it todirect the window manager 59 to create window 100 via display data thatis formatted for television 41. Processor 44 stores the display data orparts thereof in DRAM 52 (as necessary) and transfers the display datato a display output system such as RF output system 48 wherein displaydata is converted to respective television signals and transmitted totelevision 41. Of course, the scope of the invention also includes anyother method of causing the described windows to appear to the user.

The example window 100 contains a top portion 101 that typicallycontains one or more headings and a bottom portion 102 that typicallyillustrates relevant buttons available for activation with the inputdevice by the user. Media titles list 107 contains media titles such asmedia title 108 and includes a highlighted title area 109. Informationsection 104 contains information related to the media title shown in thehighlighted title area 109, which in this example is “Angela's Ashes”105. The user may add a highlighted media title to a reminder list oftitles 130 (FIG. 8) by activating the “A” button 88.

Browsing symbol 103 suggests to the user that the user may use the upand down arrow buttons 83, 84 to browse the media title list 107 and usethe select button 87 to request the currently highlighted media title.For example the user may activate the down arrow button 84 in order tocause the media title “Any Given Sunday” 108 to be displayed in thehighlighted title area 109 and then activate the select button 87 inorder to request the movie “Any Given Sunday” 108. In an alternativeembodiment, activating the up an down arrows would result in shiftingthe highlighted title area rather than shifting the media title list (atleast until the top or bottom title is highlighted).

FIG. 6 is a diagram depicting an example browse-by window 110 that ispresented to a user after the user activates the “B” button 89 whilebeing presented with media title selection window 100. Browse-by list111 includes browse-by options such as options 112 and 114. A user mayscroll through the browse-by list 111 and may select a browse-by optionby using the remote control device 80 as described above. For example,the user may select the reminder list option 114 in order to access areminder list 130 (FIG. 8) containing media titles which the user hadselectively caused to be inserted into the list.

FIG. 7 is a diagram depicting an example future releases informationwindow 120 that is presented to a user after the user selects the“Coming Soon” option 112 while being presented with the browse by window110. Media title list 121 contains media titles that will be availablefor rent at some time in the future. The content of media title list 121is received from MOD server application 19 (FIG. 2) and stored by MODclient application 63 in application memory 70 from where it isretrieved as needed. Information section 104 contains informationrelated to the media title shown in the highlighted title area 123,which in this example is “Almost Famous” 122. The user may add ahighlighted media title to a reminder list 130 (FIG. 8) by activatingthe “A” button 88.

FIG. 8 is a diagram depicting an example reminder list window 130 thatis presented to a user after the user selects the reminder list option114 while being presented with browse-by window 110. If the selectsymbol 136 is displayed in the information area 104, a user may requesta currently highlighted media title by activating the select button 87.The user can request additional information about a highlighted mediatitle by activating the “INFO” button 81. Upon the activation of the “B”button 89, the media title shown in the highlighted title area 133 isdeleted and replaced by the next media title on the reminder list 131.In this example, the title “American Beauty” 132 would be deleted andreplaced with the title “Bicentennial Man” 134 as illustrated in examplewindow 140 in FIG. 9. Once a title is deleted from a reminder list, itremains excluded from such list even after the list is presented to theuser at a later time. The user may however add a previously deletedtitle to the reminder title list by following the steps outlined above.

FIG. 10 is a diagram depicting an example reminder window 150 in whichthe currently highlighted media title is not yet available for rent. Anavailability indicator 151 indicates to the user when such media titlewill become available. The user can request additional information aboutthe media title by activating the “INFO” button 81 or may delete suchtitle from the reminder list 131 by activating the “B” button 89. In analternative embodiment, media titles belonging to a reminder list areseparated into separate groups based on their respective availability.In yet another embodiment, media titles are separated into two distinctreminder lists, one for media titles available for viewing at currenttime and the other for media titles not yet available for viewing. Inthis latter case, the MOD client application 63 conducts the transfer ofmedia titles as they become available from the latter reminder list tothe former reminder list.

FIGS. 11 and 12 depict example reminder windows 160, 170 whichillustrate an alternative embodiment to reminder window 130 shown inFIG. 8. In reminder windows 160 and 170, media titles that are insertedby a user into the reminder list are grouped into sub-lists based ontheir respective availability. An available media titles sub-list 161contains media titles that are currently available for rent, whereas afuture media releases sub-list 162 contains media title that will beavailable some time in the future. A user can designate a media sub-listas the currently scrollable media sub-list by using the left and rightarrow buttons 85, 86. For example, a user may activate the right arrow86 while being presented with reminder window 160 in order to designatethe future media releases sub-list 162 as the currently scrollablesub-list as illustrated in reminder window 170 in FIG. 12. A currentlydesignated media sub-list contains a highlighted media title. A user mayrequest a currently highlighted media title from the available titlessub-list 161 by activating the select button 87 or a user may viewadditional information about a highlighted media title from eithersub-list by activating the “INFO” button 81.

FIGS. 13 and 14 depict example reminder barkers 180 and 190 that arepresented to a user in order to remind the user of aspects pertaining tomedia titles belonging to a reminder list. A reminder barker may bepresented to a user, for example, when the user accesses a rentalselection screen or a reminder list screen. A message displayed incentral portion 183 of reminder barker 180 informs the user that a mediatitle that is part of reminder list 131 (FIG. 8) has become availablefor rent. A message displayed in the center portion 183 of reminderbarker 190 informs the user that a media title that is part of reminderlist 131 will no longer be available for rent as of a certain date. Whenpresented with either barker, the user may activate the “A” button 88 inorder to rent the media title shown in central portion 183, the “B”button 89 in order to remove the media title from the reminder list, the“C” button in order to receive the reminder at a later time, or the“EXIT” button 91 in order to remove the reminder barker from thetelevision screen.

FIG. 15 depicts an end of rental barker 200 that is presented to a userat the end of a media rental that is included in the reminder list 131(FIG. 8). A message displayed in center portion 183 asks the user if theuser would like to keep the media title as part of the reminder list131. The user may activate the “A” button 88 in order to keep the mediatitle as part of the reminder list 131, or the “B” button 89 in order toremove the media title from the reminder list 131. Alternatively, theuser may configure the MOD client application 63 via an interactivepresentation of configuration windows to permanently remove titles fromthe reminder list after consummation.

In addition to a reminder list, other designated lists or containers maybe set up a priori for other designated functionality. For example, ashopping list may serve as a designated container into which a user mayselectively insert media titles during a media-on-demand selectionsession as discussed below. A user can place media titles in theshopping list as candidates for the current on-demand selection session.Hence, a user can scout the media title list for other media titleswhile inserting and retaining one or more media titles in the shoppinglist during the current on-demand selection session. Upon coalescing aset of media titles into the shopping list, the user reviews the titlesin the shopping list and makes a final selection for on-demand viewingas described below.

FIG. 16 depicts an alternative embodiment to the media title selectionwindow 100 depicted in FIG. 5. Media title selection window 210 differsfrom media title selection window 100 in that window 210 suggests to theuser that the user may use the “A” button 88 to add a currentlyhighlighted title to a shopping list and the “B” button 89 to access theshopping list 221 as illustrated in FIG. 17. FIG. 17 depicts a shoppinglist window 220 that is presented to a user after the user activates the“B” button 89 while being presented with the media title selectionwindow 210. A user may request a currently highlighted media title byactivating the select button 87 or may request additional informationabout a highlighted media title by activating the “INFO” button 81. Uponthe activation of the “B” button 89, a currently highlighted media titleis deleted and replaced by the next media title on the shopping list221. Upon activating the select button 87 a “save list” barker 230 ispresented to the user as illustrated in FIG. 18. center portion 183 ofthe “save list” barker 230 contains a message prompting the user forinput as to whether the user would like the current shopping list to besaved. The user may activate the “A” button 88 to save the shopping list221 or the “B” button 89 in order to delete the contents of the shoppinglist 221.

FIG. 19 depicts an alternative embodiment to the media title selectionwindow 210 depicted in FIG. 16. Media title selection window 240 differsfrom media title selection window 210 in that window 240 suggests to theuser that the user may use the “A” button 88 to add a currentlyhighlighted title to a yet undetermined list and the “B” button 89 toaccess a browse-by list as discussed above. FIG. 20 depicts a listselection window 250 that is presented to the user after the useractivates the “A” button 88 while being presented with media titleselection window 240. A selection list 251 contains list selections suchas a reminder list selection 252 and a shopping list selection 253. Theuser can use the remote control device 80 in order to specify a list forstoring the highlighted media title selected via media title selectionwindow 240. After the user makes a selection, the user is presented onceagain with media title selection window 240. A user may access a desiredlist by activating the “B” button 89 and then selecting a list from thebrowse-by list 110 (FIG. 6).

In one embodiment, each individual viewer or member of a family has arespective personalized reminder list and/or shopping list that istitled with an alphanumeric string selected by the respective viewer. Alist may simply be titled with a suffix or prefix number or letter whichindividual viewers appropriate under personal agreement betweenthemselves, or the titles may be input by users with input devices suchas keyboards or remote control devices. In yet another embodimentmultiple designated reminder lists, each titled with a different mediacategory (such as comedy, drama and adventure) are available to usersfor filing media titles. Likewise, designated reminder lists may beavailable for filing media titles according to their respective ratings.

In an alternative embodiment, a set of distinct functional title listsexist, each having a respective small icon representation as illustratedin FIG. 21. Each distinct icon is a small visual color image with ashort text string that suggests the functionality of the respectivetitle list. A media title selection list functionality is enhanced bydisplaying the small representative icons, such as for example icons261, 262, and 263, inside the perimeter of the media selection window260. The input device and MOD client application 63 further comprises“drag and drop” functionality whereby a highlighted media title isdragged and “dropped” into an icon. The drag and drop functionality isinitiated by the user activating the select key 87 continuously andsimultaneously pressing one of the four arrow keys 82. While continuingto push the select key 87, the user presses a sequence of arrow keys 82according to where the desired icon is located on the screen. Forinstance, if the desired icon is shopping list icon 262, the user candrag a highlighted media title in that direction by pressing the rightarrow key 86 while continuing to hold down the select key 87. The window260 is updated with a representative movie icon (not shown) in motionacross the screen as the user performs the drag operation via continualarrow key presses. Once the dragged media title reaches the spatialdomain of the desired title list's icon, the displayed icon is dimmed(made darker) by MOD client application 63 to visually indicate to theuser that the currently dragged media title (depicted on the screen tothe user with a movie icon) has penetrated sufficiently into the icon'sreal-estate and can be dropped in. Hence, if the user decides to dropthe dragged media title into the title list of the representative icon,the user ceases the press of select key 87 and the media title isinserted into the respective title list.

In one embodiment, a designated or user-created list comprises a set of“list entries” that are stored along with a set of attributes for eachrespective list entry in application memory 70 of DRAM 52 or read-writenon-volatile memory (not shown) of DHCT 16 and/or the MOD server. IfDHCT 16 has a local storage device, either internally or externallyconnected via a communication port or local storage interface, it can beused to alternatively store user-created list information rather thanemploying the MOD server or in addition to the MOD server. Attributescomprising a list entry in a designated or user-created list can includea media title, a media title's representative image and/or thumbnail,the time and date that the user created the list entry, identificationof user that created the list entry, user-created comments entered by aninput device such as keyboard or remote control, and other possibleattributes that may help the user recollect the user's train of thoughtat the time the user inserted the title into the list.

Designated and user-created lists and their respective list entries canbe structured into a database, and each set of attributes can comprise adatabase record in a list database (not shown). Information indesignated and user-created lists described herein is read from theDHCT's memory to fill respective data fields in windows presented to auser. Alternatively, the information can be read from the DHCT's localstorage (if applicable) or the MOD server.

Regardless of where designated and user-created list information isstored, a subset of information is preferably stored in read-writenon-volatile memory of the DHCT 16 by the MOD client application 63 forthe MOD client application 63 to find designated and user-created listinformation in the event that the DHCT 16 experiences a power outageperiod. This set of designated and user-created list information that isstored in non-volatile memory preferably includes information as towhether there are user-created list entries in any designated oruser-created list (for which a single bit of non-volatile memory can bedesignated), and preferably information such as a directory path or useridentification for where a copy of the list database can be retrievedfrom the MOD server (by the MOD client application 63 in communicationwith th MOD server) or from the DHCT's local storage device (ifapplicable).

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of thepresent invention, particularly any “preferred embodiments”, are merelypossible examples of the implementations, merely setting forth a clearunderstanding of the principles of the inventions. Many variations andmodifications may be made to the above-described embodiments of theinvention without departing substantially from the spirit of theprinciples of the invention. All such modifications and variations areintended to be included herein within the scope of the disclosure andpresent invention and protected by the following claims.

1. A method implemented by a television set-top terminal (“STT”)comprising steps of: providing a list of currently viewablevideo-on-demand presentations listed by their respective titles, whereinthe currently viewable list identifies video-on-demand presentationsthat are currently available for on-demand viewing; presenting an optionto a viewer for selecting a particular currently viewablevideo-on-demand presentation listed on the currently viewablevideo-on-demand presentations list to be added to a reminder list,wherein a viewer is provided a mechanism for indicating interest inbeing reminded at a future time about a particular currently viewablevideo-on-demand presentation that is currently available for on-demandviewing; receiving viewer input selecting a particular currentlyviewable video-on-demand presentation listed on the currently viewablevideo-on-demand presentations list to be added to the reminder list inresponse to the option provided for selecting a particular currentlyviewable video-on-demand presentation listed on the currently viewablevideo-on-demand presentations list to be added to the reminder list;providing a list of coming soon video-on-demand presentations listed bytheir respective titles, wherein the coming soon list identifiesvideo-on-demand presentations that are scheduled to be available foron-demand viewing on a future release date and are not currentlyavailable for on-demand viewing; presenting an option to a viewer forselecting a particular coming soon video-on-demand presentation listedon the coming soon video-on-demand presentations list to be added to thereminder list, wherein a viewer is provided a mechanism for indicatinginterest in being reminded at a future time about a particular comingsoon video-on-demand presentation that is not currently available foron-demand viewing; receiving viewer input selecting a particular comingsoon video-on-demand presentation listed on the coming soonvideo-on-demand presentations list to be added to the reminder list inresponse to the option provided for selecting a particular coming soonvideo-on-demand presentation listed on the coming soon video-on-demandpresentations list to be added to the reminder list; responsive toreceiving viewer input requesting display of the reminder list,displaying the reminder list, including displaying on a single screen aplurality of titles, including titles of the selected currently viewablevideo-on-demand presentation and the selected coming soonvideo-on-demand presentation as entries in the displayed reminder list,wherein the displayed reminder list is distinct from the list ofcurrently viewable video-on-demand presentations and the list of comingsoon video-on-demand presentations, and wherein the future release dateof the coming soon video-on-demand presentation is displayable throughviewer selection of the title of the coming soon video-on-demandpresentation in the reminder list; subsequent to the displaying of thereminder list, determining whether the release date previously displayedas the future release date for the video-on-demand presentationpreviously listed as the coming soon video-on-demand presentation is nolonger a date in the future; and responsive to both determining that therelease date is no longer a date in the future and receiving additionalviewer input requesting display of the list of currently viewablevideo-on-demand presentations, providing to the viewer a messageseparate from the reminder list that the video-on-demand presentationpreviously listed as the coming soon video-on-demand presentation is nowavailable for renting, wherein the message includes an option for theviewer to rent the video-on-demand presentation.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the displaying on the single screen titles of the selectedcurrently viewable video-on-demand presentation and the selected comingsoon video-on-demand presentation as entries in the displayed reminderlist includes displaying the selected currently viewable video-on-demandpresentation and the selected coming soon video-on-demand presentationas intermingled entries in a list arranged alphabetically by titles. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein the displaying on the single screentitles of the selected currently viewable video-on-demand presentationand the selected coming soon video-on-demand presentation as entries inthe displayed reminder list includes displaying the selected currentlyviewable video-on-demand presentation in a currently viewable sub-listand displaying the selected coming soon video-on-demand presentation ina coming soon sub-list.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the currentlyviewable sub-list and the coming soon sub-list are displayed in aside-by-side visual arrangement on the screen.
 5. The method of claim 4,wherein navigational control is provided to the viewer for transitioningbetween the currently viewable sub-list and the coming soon sub-list forselection of items listed in the currently viewable sub-list and thecoming soon sub-list.
 6. The method of claim 3, further including,responsive to determining that the release date is no longer a date inthe future for the video-on-demand presentation previously listed as thecoming soon video-on-demand presentation, the STT moving the title fromthe coming soon sub-list to the currently viewable sub-list.
 7. Themethod of claim 3, wherein the message is configured as a barker screen.8. The method of claim 3, wherein the message further includes an optionto remove the video-on-demand presentation from the reminder list.
 9. Atelevision set-top terminal (“STT”) comprising: memory configured tostore program code; and a processor programmed by the program code toenable the STT to provide the functions of, providing a list ofcurrently viewable video-on-demand presentations listed by theirrespective titles, wherein the currently viewable list identifiesvideo-on-demand presentations that are currently available for on-demandviewing; presenting an option to a viewer for selecting a particularcurrently viewable video-on-demand presentation listed on the currentlyviewable video-on-demand presentations list to be added to a reminderlist, wherein a viewer is provided a mechanism for indicating interestin being reminded at a future time about a particular currently viewablevideo-on-demand presentation that is currently available for on-demandviewing; receiving viewer input selecting a particular currentlyviewable video-on-demand presentation listed on the currently viewablevideo-on-demand presentations list to be added to the reminder list inresponse to the option provided for selecting a particular currentlyviewable video-on-demand presentation listed on the currently viewablevideo-on-demand presentations list to be added to the reminder list;providing a list of coming soon video-on-demand presentations listed bytheir respective titles, wherein the coming soon list identifiesvideo-on-demand presentations that are scheduled to be available foron-demand viewing on a future release date and are not currentlyavailable for on-demand viewing; presenting an option to a viewer forselecting a particular coming soon video-on-demand presentation listedon the coming soon video-on-demand presentations list to be added to thereminder list, wherein a viewer is provided a mechanism for indicatinginterest in being reminded at a future time about a particular comingsoon video-on-demand presentation that is not currently available foron-demand viewing; receiving viewer input selecting a particular comingsoon video-on-demand presentation listed on the coming soonvideo-on-demand presentations list to be added to the reminder list inresponse to the option provided for selecting a particular coming soonvideo-on-demand presentation listed on the coming soon video-on-demandpresentations list to be added to the reminder list; responsive toreceiving viewer input requesting display of the reminder list,displaying the reminder list, including displaying on a single screen aplurality of titles, including titles of the selected currently viewablevideo-on-demand presentation and the selected coming soonvideo-on-demand presentation as entries in the displayed reminder list,wherein the displayed reminder list is distinct from the list ofcurrently viewable video-on-demand presentations and the list of comingsoon video-on-demand presentations, and wherein the future release dateof the coming soon video-on-demand presentation is displayable throughviewer selection of the title of the coming soon video-on-demandpresentation in the reminder list; subsequent to the displaying of thereminder list, determining whether the release date previously displayedas the future release date for the video-on-demand presentationpreviously listed as the coming soon video-on-demand presentation is nolonger a date in the future; and responsive to both determining that therelease date is no longer a date in the future and receiving additionalviewer input requesting display of the list of currently viewablevideo-on-demand presentations, providing to the viewer a messageseparate from the reminder list that the video-on-demand presentationpreviously listed as the coming soon video-on-demand presentation is nowavailable for renting, wherein the message includes an option for theviewer to rent the video-on-demand presentation.
 10. The STT of claim 9,wherein the displaying on the single screen titles of the selectedcurrently viewable video-on-demand presentation and the selected comingsoon video-on-demand presentation as entries in the displayed reminderlist includes displaying the selected currently viewable video-on-demandpresentation and the selected coming soon video-on-demand presentationas intermingled entries in a list arranged alphabetically by titles. 11.The STT of claim 9, wherein the displaying on the single screen titlesof the selected currently viewable video-on-demand presentation and theselected coming soon video-on-demand presentation as entries in thedisplayed reminder list includes displaying the selected currentlyviewable video-on-demand presentation in a currently viewable sub-listand displaying the selected coming soon video-on-demand presentation ina coming soon sub-list.
 12. The STT of claim 11, wherein the currentlyviewable sub-list and the coming soon sub-list are displayed in aside-by-side visual arrangement on the screen.
 13. The STT of claim 12,wherein navigational control is provided to the viewer for transitioningbetween the currently viewable sub-list and the coming soon sub-list forselection of items listed in the currently viewable sub-list and thecoming soon sub-list.
 14. The STT of claim 11, wherein the process isfurther programmed for providing the function of, responsive todetermining that the release date is no longer a date in the future forthe video-on-demand presentation previously listed as the coming soonvideo-on-demand presentation, the STT moving the title from the comingsoon sub-list to the currently viewable sub-list.
 15. The STT of claim11, wherein the message is configured as a barker screen.
 16. The STT ofclaim 11, wherein the message further includes an option to remove thevideo-on-demand presentation from the reminder list.